7 Critical Smart Home Problems You Must Fix Today (Before It’s Too Late)
Your smart home was supposed to make life effortless. Instead, you might be living with hidden fire hazards, security backdoors, and a network that’s slowly strangling itself. Most smart home owners don’ realize the danger until something fails—or burns.
After analyzing thousands of smart home setups and consulting with home automation security experts, we’ve identified the seven most urgent problems. The fixes range from five-minute adjustments to weekend projects, but every single one will make your home safer, faster, and more reliable.
Let’s fix your smart home—starting right now.
1. Overloaded Smart Plugs – The Fire Hazard You Walk Past Every Day
Urgency Level: Critical – Fix within the next hour
That inexpensive smart plug from Amazon or your local electronics store seems harmless. It’s small, convenient, and turns your coffee maker on remotely. But most standard smart plugs—including popular models from TP-Link Kasa, Wyze, and Amazon Basics —are rated for only 10 amperes (10A).
In a standard North American 120-volt outlet, 10A equals a maximum of 1,200 watts. Exceed that limit even briefly, and the internal components can overheat, melt the casing, and ignite nearby materials. This isn’t a theoretical risk—fire departments have responded to incidents caused by overloaded smart plugs.
Devices That Should Never Touch a Standard Smart Plug
Walk through your home right now and unplug any of the following from a standard smart plug:
Space heaters – Most draw 1,500 watts, exceeding the 1,200W limit immediately.
Clothes dryers – Even compact units pull 2,000W or more.
Refrigerators or freezers – The compressor’s startup surge can spike to 2,000W for a split second, which is enough to weld a smart plug’s relay closed.
Window or portable air conditioners – These typically run at 1,200-1,500W continuously.
Pumps (pool, sump, fountain, or well pumps) – Motors have high inrush current.
Kitchen appliances – Toasters, microwaves, coffee makers, and electric skillets all exceed 1,200W when running.
Power tools – Circular saws, table saws, and shop vacuums draw heavy current.
The Safe Alternative: Heavy-Duty Smart Controls
You don’t have to give up automation for high-power devices. Instead, buy a heavy-duty smart plug rated for 15A or 16A. Reputable options include the Zooz Z-Wave Heavy Duty Smart Plug (rated for 15A), Aeotec Heavy Duty Smart Switch (40A for large appliances), and Shelly 1PM or Shelly Plus 1PM (16A relay that installs behind the outlet or inside the appliance’s junction box).
For permanently wired appliances like water heaters or pool pumps, hire an electrician to install a smart contactor or relay. These devices switch high currents safely and can be controlled by any home automation hub.
Step-by-Step Fix for Today
Unplug immediately – Go to every smart plug in your home. If a high-wattage device is connected, unplug it right now.
Check the label – Every electrical device has a label showing either watts or amps. If it shows amps, multiply by your voltage (120V in North America, 230V in Europe/UK/Australia). If the result exceeds 1,200W, don’t use a standard smart plug.
Order a heavy-duty replacement – Buy a properly rated smart plug for each high-power device you want to automate.
Set a safety automation – If your hub supports it (like Home Assistant or Hubitat), create an automation that turns off the plug if a connected temperature sensor detects abnormal heat.
Pro insight: Even with a heavy-duty plug, never exceed 80% of its rated load continuously. A 15A plug should not run at more than 12A (1,440 watts) for hours at a time. That 1,500W space heater? Still too much. Automate it with a line-voltage thermostat instead.
2. Smart Bulbs Without Smart Switches – The Guest and Family Nightmare
Urgency Level: High – Fix today or this weekend
Smart bulbs are brilliant—until someone flips the wall switch off. Suddenly that $50 color-changing bulb becomes a dumb, unreachable piece of glass. Your carefully crafted “Good Morning” routine fails. Your spouse gets frustrated. Guests think your home is broken.
The root problem is simple: smart bulbs require constant power. A standard toggle switch cuts power completely, and no amount of voice commands or app taps can turn the bulb back on.
Why This Problem Is Worse Than You Think
Most people try to train their family to “never touch the light switch.” That never works. Humans have used wall switches for over a century—muscle memory is powerful. Every time someone flips the switch off, you lose remote control until you physically walk over and flip it back on.
Additionally, smart bulbs left on standard switches will reset to factory defaults if toggled off and on rapidly. Some brands (like Philips Hue) store their settings, but many cheaper bulbs forget their Wi-Fi credentials after three or four quick power cycles.
The Two Permanent Fixes
Option A: Replace the switch, not the bulb – Install a Lutron Caseta smart switch, a Leviton Decora Smart switch, or a TP-Link Kasa smart switch. Then use any standard dimmable LED bulb. The switch itself is smart, so even if someone touches it, the automation continues working. This is the most reliable solution for 90% of homes.
Option B: Decoupled mode (smart switch + smart bulb together) – Some advanced switches, like the Inovelli Blue Series (Zigbee) or Inovelli Red Series (Z-Wave), support “smart bulb mode.” You wire the switch so it always sends constant power to the bulb, but the switch’s paddle sends wireless signals to the bulb to change state. The switch looks and feels normal but never cuts power. This preserves all smart bulb features (color changing, tunable white, scenes) while keeping physical control.
Temporary Workaround for Renters
If you can’t change the switches because you rent, install magnetic switch covers or 3D-printed guards over the existing toggles. Then place a Flic Button or IKEA Trådfri Remote Control next to the covered switch. Train everyone to use the button instead of the toggle. It’s not perfect, but it works.
Step-by-Step Fix for Today
Identify every room with smart bulbs – Make a list.
Decide on permanent fix – Own your home? Order smart switches. Rent? Order switch covers and smart buttons.
Install one room completely – Finish one room before moving to the next. A half-finished smart home is worse than a dumb one.
Remove the old smart bulbs – Once a room has smart switches, you can use standard bulbs. Sell the smart bulbs or move them to lamps (which don’t have wall switches).
Pro insight: For lamps that plug into wall outlets, use a smart plug instead of a smart bulb. The smart plug keeps power constant while giving you remote control. Plus, smart plugs cost less than smart bulbs.
3. The App Explosion – Why You Have Seventeen Apps for One Home
Urgency Level: Medium – Start fixing today, complete over one week
Open your phone. Count the smart home apps. If you’re like most people, you have one for lights (Philips Hue), one for locks (August Home), one for your thermostat (Ecobee or Nest), one for your robot vacuum (Roborock or Roomba), one for your garage door (Chamberlain MyQ), and another for your security cameras (Arlo, Ring, or Eufy). It’s chaos.
This problem doesn’t fix itself. In fact, it gets worse every time you buy a new device. Each manufacturer wants you inside their ecosystem, so they make interoperability difficult.
The Solution: A Universal Smart Home Hub
A hub brings every device into a single interface. You open one app (or dashboard) to control lights, locks, thermostats, cameras, and sensors. Automations can cross brands—your Philips Hue motion sensor can trigger your Ecobee thermostat to change temperature.
Here are the best hubs available today, from easiest to most powerful:
For beginners who want simplicity – Apple Home works if you already own an Apple TV, HomePod, or always-at-home iPad. It’s limited to devices with “Works with Apple Home” certification, but the interface is clean and reliable. Similarly, Amazon Alexa and Google Home offer basic cross-brand control, though complex automations often fail.
For enthusiasts who want local control – Hubitat Elevation runs entirely on local hardware (no cloud dependency). It supports Z-Wave, Zigbee, LAN, and most cloud APIs. Automations execute in milliseconds, even if your internet goes down. The interface is less polished than Apple’s, but it’s incredibly reliable.
For power users who want everything – Home Assistant is the gold standard. It runs on any hardware: a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, an old laptop, a Beelink Mini PC, or even a Synology NAS in Docker. The software is completely free. It integrates over 2,000 brands, including obscure devices no other hub supports. The learning curve is steep, but the community provides excellent documentation.
For a polished commercial alternative – Homey Pro (available in Europe and via import to North America) offers a beautiful interface and supports Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared. It’s expensive but requires less tinkering than Home Assistant.
Step-by-Step Fix Starting Today
Choose your hub – Based on your technical comfort level, pick one from above. When in doubt, start with Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi 5 with an SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus.
Install the hub – Follow the official installation guide. For Home Assistant, use the “Home Assistant Operating System” method (not Docker or Core) for the easiest experience.
Add devices one by one – Start with your most-used devices: lights, thermostat, locks. Most will be auto-discovered.
Create your first dashboard – Put the most important controls on one screen. Hide everything else.
Delete the old apps – Once you confirm everything works, remove the brand-specific apps from your phone. The liberation is real.
Pro insight: Don’t try to migrate all 50 devices in one sitting. Add three devices per day. Within two weeks, your entire home will be unified. Also, keep one backup method for critical devices (like physical keys for smart locks) in case the hub ever fails.
4. Wi-Fi Congestion – Why Your Network Feels Like Dial-Up
Urgency Level: Medium – Fix within one week
Every new smart bulb, plug, sensor, and camera is another device competing for your router’s attention. Most consumer routers start struggling at 30 to 40 connected devices. A typical smart home with a few bulbs, several plugs, a doorbell, cameras, and sensors can easily exceed that.
Symptoms of Wi-Fi congestion are unmistakable: lights take three seconds to respond (or time out completely), your video doorbell’s live stream buffers and drops, voice commands fail randomly, and your laptop or phone feels sluggish even when you’re sitting next to the router.
Why More Devices Slow Down Your Network
Wi-Fi is a shared medium. Only one device can transmit at a time on a given channel. When you have 40 devices, they’re all constantly waking up to send tiny status packets (“I’m still here,” “temperature is 72°F,” “motion detected”). These packets cause collisions and retransmissions, eating up airtime that could be used for your laptop’s video call or your phone’s social media scrolling.
Additionally, many cheap smart home devices use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only. The 2.4 GHz band is already congested with neighboring homes’ networks, baby monitors, microwave ovens, and Bluetooth devices. Adding 20 smart bulbs to that band is like adding twenty cars to a traffic jam.
The Fix: Move Critical Devices Off Wi-Fi
For new purchases – Stop buying Wi-Fi smart home devices. Instead, choose Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Thread/Matter devices. These protocols create their own mesh network that does not touch your Wi-Fi. A single SONOFF Zigbee Dongle plugged into your Home Assistant hub can control over 100 Zigbee devices without adding a single packet to your Wi-Fi network.
For existing Wi-Fi devices – Create a separate IoT VLAN or guest network for smart devices (detailed in section 6 below). This isolates their traffic and reduces broadcast chatter on your main network.
For better router hardware – Upgrade to a tri-band mesh system like the Eero Pro 6E, Asus ZenWiFi ET8, or TP-Link Deco XE75. The third band (6 GHz for 6E models) can be dedicated to backhaul, leaving the other two bands free for client devices.
Step-by-Step Fix for Today
Log into your router – Check how many devices are connected. If it’s over 40, you need to take action.
Disable Wi-Fi on devices that support Ethernet – Your smart TV, gaming console, and desktop computer should all use wired Ethernet. This alone can remove 5-10 devices from Wi-Fi.
Move non-essential devices to a guest network – Instructions in section 6.
Order a Zigbee or Z-Wave dongle – The SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus costs around $30. For Z-Wave, the Zooz 800 Series USB Stick is excellent.
Change your Wi-Fi channel – Use an app like WiFi Analyzer (Android) or NetSpot (PC/Mac) to find the least congested 2.4 GHz channel. Avoid channels 1, 6, and 11 if they’re crowded.
Pro insight: Most routers default to 20 MHz channel width on 2.4 GHz for compatibility. If all your smart devices support it, switch to 20 MHz (not 40 MHz) for better reliability in congested areas. A narrower channel has less interference.
5. Security Cameras on Wi-Fi – A Recipe for Missed Evidence
Urgency Level: High – Plan the fix within 30 days
Wi-Fi security cameras are convenient to install, but they are fundamentally unreliable for actual security. They drop frames during critical motion events, lose connection during high-traffic times (like when a delivery arrives and your doorbell tries to stream simultaneously), and can be deliberately jammed with a $20 deauthentication device purchased from Amazon or eBay.
If you rely on your Ring doorbell or Arlo camera to capture evidence of a package thief or intruder, you are taking a significant risk. When you need the footage most, the Wi-Fi network is often at its most congested—exactly when the camera needs to stream reliably.
The Permanent Solution: Power over Ethernet (PoE)
Power over Ethernet sends both electrical power and data through a single Ethernet cable. PoE cameras never drop signal, never need battery changes, and cannot be jammed over the air because they have no wireless radio to jam (or if they do, you can disable it).
What you need for a PoE camera system:
Cat6 or Cat6a Ethernet cable – Buy pure copper, not CCA (copper-clad aluminum). TrueCABLE and Monoprice sell reliable bulk cable. For outdoor runs, use direct burial or outdoor-rated cable.
PoE switch or PoE injector – A TP-Link TL-SG1005P (5-port, 4 PoE ports) is affordable for small systems. For larger setups, the Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE or Netgear GS308PP (8 ports, 120W budget) works well.
PoE cameras – Reolink offers excellent value with their RLC-810A (4K) or RLC-520A (5MP). Amcrest has the UltraHD 4K series. For premium options, Ubiquiti UniFi Protect cameras integrate seamlessly with their network gear. Hikvision and Dahua are professional-grade but require more configuration.
Network Video Recorder (NVR) or software – Reolink NVRs are plug-and-play with their cameras. Alternatively, run Frigate (open-source, AI-powered) on your Home Assistant server with a Google Coral TPU for object detection.
Step-by-Step Fix Starting Today
Temporary improvements for your existing Wi-Fi cameras:
Move your most important cameras (front door, driveway, back door) to a dedicated 5 GHz SSID with no other devices.
Reduce camera resolution from 4K to 1080p to lower bandwidth demand.
Enable RTSP or ONVIF streaming if your cameras support it, then record locally to an NVR instead of relying on cloud uploads.
Permanent fix (one-camera test):
Buy one PoE camera and one 50-foot pre-made Ethernet cable.
Temporarily run the cable from your router to the camera location (across the floor, through a window—temporary is fine for testing).
Connect the camera to a PoE injector or switch.
Verify the video stream is rock-solid for 48 hours.
Once convinced, plan the permanent cable run through your attic, crawl space, or conduit.
Full deployment (weekend project):
Map every camera location.
Measure cable runs, adding 10% extra length.
Buy bulk Cat6a (shielded for outdoor runs) and a crimping tool with RJ45 connectors.
Run cables, terminate ends, and test each line with a network cable tester (the Klein Tools VDV526-100 is excellent).
Mount cameras, connect to PoE switch, and configure recording.
Pro insight: You don’t need to wire every camera at once. Start with the two most critical views (front door and driveway). The improvement in reliability will convince you to do the rest. Also, consider using UniFi Dream Machine Pro as an all-in-one router, NVR, and PoE switch if you’re building a new system from scratch.
6. Trusting Every Device on Your Network – The Security Disaster You’re Ignoring
Urgency Level: Medium – Fix within one week
That $12 smart plug from a brand you’ve never heard of? It has a tiny computer inside, running software that you do not control. It can scan your home network, attempt to guess passwords, and send data to servers in countries with no privacy laws. Even reputable brands like Eufy and Wyze have had security breaches where customer video feeds were exposed.
The fundamental rule of smart home security: Any device you do not fully control is a potential threat. The only effective protection is network segmentation—separating your smart devices from your computers, phones, and storage.
Why Segmentation Works
Imagine your home network as a house. Your main network is the living room where your laptop, phone, and NAS drive live. An infected smart plug is like a stranger you let into the living room. Segmentation puts all smart devices in a glass-walled room. They can see out (to reach the internet for firmware updates), but they cannot touch anything in the living room.
Two Ways to Segment Your Network
Method 1: Guest Network (for most people) – Every modern router has a guest network feature. When configured correctly, devices on the guest network can reach the internet but cannot communicate with devices on your main network.
How to set it up:
Log into your router’s admin panel (instructions for Eero, TP-Link, Asus, Netgear).
Find the Guest Network settings (often under Wireless or Advanced).
Enable the guest network with a strong password (different from your main network password).
Look for a setting called “Allow guests to access my local network” or “Access Intranet” – set this to OFF.
Also disable “Allow guests to see each other” if available.
Name the network something obvious like “SmartHome_Only.”
Go to every smart device’s app and reconnect it to this new guest network. This may require resetting some devices.
Keep your phone, laptop, and desktop computer on your main network.
Method 2: VLANs (for advanced users) – Virtual Local Area Networks provide stronger isolation with more control. You need a router that supports VLANs (such as Ubiquiti UniFi, TP-Link Omada, MikroTik, or pfSense running on Protectli Vault hardware). You also need a managed switch and access points that support VLAN tagging.
With VLANs, you can create separate networks for:
Trusted devices (your laptop, phone, PC)
IoT devices (smart plugs, bulbs, sensors)
Guest devices (visitors’ phones)
Cameras (isolated from everything except the NVR)
You can also create firewall rules that allow specific communication (e.g., your phone can send commands to smart plugs, but smart plugs cannot initiate connections to your phone).
Step-by-Step Fix for Today
If you have a guest network feature – Follow the setup steps above. This takes 15 minutes.
If you want full VLANs – Order Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra ($129), Switch Lite 8 PoE ($109), and U6 Plus Access Point ($129). Follow the UniFi IoT VLAN guide to create a separate IoT SSID on its own VLAN with firewall rules blocking traffic to your main LAN.
After setting up either method – Change your main Wi-Fi password. This forces all smart devices to reconnect to the guest network or IoT VLAN. Any device that cannot reconnect may not support the new network—replace it.
Pro insight: Some smart devices (especially Sonos speakers and Apple AirPlay targets) need to be on the same network as your phone for discovery. For these, either leave them on your main network (if you trust the brand) or set up advanced firewall rules that allow specific traffic from your main VLAN to the IoT VLAN but not the reverse.
7. The “Temporary” Solution That Became a Permanent Headache
Urgency Level: Low but Important – Fix over one weekend
Every smart home has them. A smart plug that’s slightly overloaded but “hasn’t failed yet.” A light that needs two voice commands to turn on. A routine that fails 10% of the time. A camera that drops connection every few days but reconnects on its own. We tell ourselves we’ll fix it later.
Later never comes. These small frictions accumulate. After six months, you don’t trust your smart home. You manually turn off lights again. You stop using voice commands. The automation you spent hours setting up gets ignored.
The One-Week Smart Home Reset Challenge
Commit to this challenge. Seven days. One fix per day. At the end, your smart home will work better than it ever has.
Day 1 – Documentation – Walk through every room. Write down every smart home annoyance, no matter how small. Examples: “Guest bedroom lamp takes 5 seconds to respond.” “Garage door sensor sometimes shows closed when it’s open.” “Robot vacuum gets stuck under the couch.”
Day 2 – Research – For each problem on your list, find the proper fix. Search the Home Assistant Community Forums, the Hubitat Community, or the specific brand’s support site. If you can’t find a fix, the solution might be “replace this device with a different model.”
Day 3 – Order Parts – Buy whatever you need: replacement smart plugs, Ethernet cables, a Zigbee dongle, switch covers, or new devices. Do not delay. Add expedited shipping if necessary. A $10 extra shipping fee is worth ending a year of frustration.
Day 4 – Fix Physical Problems – Unplug overloaded smart plugs. Replace batteries in sensors. Reposition motion detectors that miss movement. Tighten loose light bulbs. These fixes take five minutes each.
Day 5 – Fix Network Problems – Move devices to the guest network (section 6). Change Wi-Fi channels (section 4). Update router firmware. Reboot everything.
Day 6 – Fix Automation Problems – Delete broken routines. Recreate them from scratch, but simpler. A reliable automation that turns on a light at sunset is better than an unreliable automation that checks your calendar, weather, and presence before deciding.
Day 7 – Test and Enjoy – Trigger every automation. Check every device. Verify that each problem on your Day 1 list is resolved. Then sit back and enjoy a smart home that actually works.
The Mindset Shift You Need Today
Delete one workaround right now. Unplug that overloaded smart plug. Disable the broken routine. Remove the unreliable device from your system. It is better to have one less smart feature than a perpetually broken one.
A smart home should fade into the background. When it works perfectly, you forget it’s there. That is the goal. Every “temporary” fix you keep is a wall between you and that goal.
Final Checklist: Your Smart Home Health Audit
Print this page. Walk through your home. Mark each item as complete.
Fire and Electrical Safety
I have identified every smart plug in my home.
No high-wattage device (heater, dryer, AC, pump, toaster) is plugged into a standard 10A smart plug.
I have ordered heavy-duty 15A or 16A smart plugs for any high-power device I want to automate.
I have checked each smart plug’s temperature after 30 minutes of use (warm is fine; hot to the touch is dangerous).
Physical Control
Every room with smart bulbs either has a smart switch or a switch cover with a smart button.
Guests can control lights without needing an explanation.
Unified Control
I have chosen and installed a universal hub (Home Assistant, Hubitat, Apple Home, or Homey Pro).
At least 80% of my devices are controlled from that single hub.
I have deleted at least five brand-specific apps from my phone.
Network Health
My router shows fewer than 40 devices connected to the main Wi-Fi network.
I have moved all non-essential smart devices to a guest network or IoT VLAN.
I have ordered a Zigbee or Z-Wave dongle to move future purchases off Wi-Fi.
My security cameras are either on PoE Ethernet or on a dedicated 5 GHz SSID with no other devices.
Security
All smart home devices are on a guest network with “Access Intranet” turned OFF, or on an IoT VLAN with firewall rules blocking access to my main LAN.
I have changed my main Wi-Fi password after moving devices to the segmented network.
I no longer use the default passwords on any smart device or router.
Permanent Fixes
I have no “temporary” workaround older than 30 days.
Every annoyance on my list has a documented fix, and I have started implementing those fixes.
The 30-Day Smart Home Reset Plan
If you prefer a structured timeline rather than tackling everything at once, follow this month-long plan.
Week 1: Safety and Security – Focus on problems that can cause physical harm or data loss. Unplug overloaded smart plugs (section 1). Set up guest network segmentation (section 6). Change default passwords on all devices. Update router firmware.
Week 2: Control Consolidation – Install your universal hub (section 3). Add your most-used devices first. Create a simple dashboard. Delete the brand apps from your phone. Enjoy seeing everything in one place.
Week 3: Network Optimization – Move new device purchases to Zigbee or Z-Wave (section 4). Run Ethernet for one security camera as a test (section 5). Change Wi-Fi channels to reduce congestion. If your router is older than three years, consider upgrading to a tri-band mesh system.
Week 4: Physical and Quality-of-Life Fixes – Replace smart bulbs with smart switches in the rooms where people flip switches off (section 2). Eliminate every remaining workaround (section 7). Automate something new now that your foundation is solid.
By the end of 30 days, your smart home will be safer, faster, more reliable, and genuinely enjoyable to use—instead of a constant source of small frustrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use a smart plug with a space heater if I never run it at full power?
A: No. Space heaters cycle on and off automatically. Even at half power, the startup surge can exceed the plug’s rating. The internal relay can weld closed, causing the heater to run continuously. Do not risk it. Use a line-voltage thermostat or a heavy-duty contactor instead.
Q: Is Home Assistant really free?
A: The software is completely free and open source. You provide the hardware (any PC, Raspberry Pi, or mini-PC). Cloud remote access costs $6.50 per month if you want it (supports the project), but local access and even secure remote access via Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel are completely free.
Q: Will a guest network break my smart speakers’ ability to cast music from my phone?
A: Yes, for most setups. If your phone is on the main network and your Sonos or Google Nest speaker is on the guest network, discovery protocols often fail. Solutions: put trusted audio devices on your main network (accepting the small risk), or set up advanced firewall rules allowing specific ports from main to guest. For most people, leaving speakers on the main network is an acceptable compromise.
Q: How many Zigbee devices can one hub handle?
A: A single coordinator (like the SONOFF Zigbee Dongle) can handle 50-100 devices easily. For larger homes, add Zigbee router devices (any mains-powered Zigbee device, like a smart plug) that repeat the signal. The theoretical limit is over 200 devices.
Q: What’s the single most important fix on this list?
A: Overloaded smart plugs (section 1). It is the only problem that can literally burn your house down. Fix that before anything else. Unplug high-wattage devices from standard smart plugs right now—do not finish reading this article until you have done that.
Q: I rent an apartment. How many of these fixes can I do?
A: Most of them. You can unplug overloaded smart plugs (section 1), install a universal hub (section 3), use switch covers and smart buttons (section 2), set up a guest network (section 6), and eliminate temporary workarounds